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Monthly Archives: December 2014

Ive been noticing an interesting phenomena in some of the younger folks I’ve met recently…the thrall, the charm, the possibility, the obsession with, the love of the internet has worn thin. There is also an acute awareness of being targeted by marketing campaigns. This is made abundantly clear in the song ‘Content Nausea’ by my favorite band from this past year, Parquet Courts. Topics range from technology to panic and depression, the military industrial complex (Careers in Combat) and some good old fashioned story songs and all with a great sense of humor. They sound like a mix of The Velvet Underground, Pavement, The Soft Pack and Television. I got to see them last Thursday at Webster Hall. I saw a huge line down the block and wondered if I’d be in a crush. It turned out the line was for Thurston Moore who was playing in a small club next door. Two very strong writer/guitarists in the band make for some great angular melodic guitar exchanges like the band Television. I’m a huge fan of lyrics and these guys have them in spades! One is more of a singer and the other is more of a shouter/sing-spoken-word man. The bass player sang one of the songs too! On their website under a photo of Webster Halls Marquee proclaiming the show to be sold out whichever band member writes on their website wrote, Who am I kidding we sold out a long time ago… followed by a video of a drone-y, sludgey performance at a party? Not the stuff of sellouts http://parquetcourts.wordpress.com/ They release their albums on vinyl as well as CD (much respect) and they’re 4 albums in already (I didn’t catch the title of their first release in 2012 but they made a splash with Light Up Gold, followed by Sunbathing Animal and most recently Content Nausea) plus they do their own art work (respect again). They played songs from those three big albums:

Up All Night
Bodies
Black and White
Vienna II
Uncast Shadow Of A Southern Myth
Everyday It Starts
Dear Ramona
Master of My Craft
Borrowed Time
Careers in Combat
N Dakota
What Color Is Blood
No Ideas
Disney P.T.
Ducking & Dodging
Raw Milk
Into the Garden
Content Nausea
Light Up Gold II
Sunbathing Animal
Encore:
Pretty Machines
Yonder is Closer to the Heart
Always Back in Town
Instant Disassembly

Given the current demonstrations here in NYC and in particular in light of the Eric Garner murder the end of the song, ‘Instant Disassembly’ which closes with the repetition of the line ‘I can’t breath, I can’t breath, it’s hard to inhale yeah’ took on a heightened significance. My only complaint was that the rapid-fire words of ‘Content Nausea’ got lost in shouting and distortion. Regardless it was a great performance! I bought the t-shirt (ha ha) I see buying t-shirts from bands as helping out. I think it’s the only way bands make money. Anyway, listen to Parquet Courts I highly recommend them!!

Philip Lynch Band next appearing at Piano’s 158 Ludlow Street, NYC December 23rd (Festivus for the rest of us!!) @ 7PM

So I went to see the Elliott Smith movie, ‘Heaven Adores You’. I don’t like the title. I think Elliott used the word heaven in his awesome, wry way on St. Ides Heaven not in some I-feel-warm-and-I-love and miss you way (as the movie intended). St Ides, for those who don’t know, is a cheap beer. The line to the SVA Theatre wrapped around the block and I stood in line with a nice couple. We struck up a conversation about Elliott, I had seen him on four separate occasions. The dude apologetically said he got into his music after he died. My feeling about this is this, it’s the music. I got into Nick Drake after he died after I had heard ‘Pink Moon’ on a Volkswagen commercial. I think what people object to is the introduction to the music by way of the news of the death which …yes that’s macabre but ultimately it’s the music that matters. The premise of ‘hipster’ being a dirty word is based largely on the attitude of “I knew about this awesome artist/product/book/artisanal pencil sharpener before anybody else!” as though discovery connotes sole proprietor-ship. I don’t feel that way. When I discover great music I want to share it not crow about when I heard it. So the movie was really a light tribute to Elliott and his music and particularly his scene in Portland, OR before being nominated for an Oscar and the years following leading up to his death. A lot of friends and musicians who worked with him are in the film with nothing but good things to say which I would expect no less but it leaves me a little hollow…his songs are deeper and darker than that and therefore present a fuller picture of his person than warm remembrances. A more interesting moment in the film is when an ex-girlfriend mentions that his songs became more autobiographical and pointed and personal as he descended into his drug involvement. Noticeably absent from the film are Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss (from the righteous band Quasi). They had toured with Elliott and I get the sense they were close friends. Maybe his death was still too close for them to partake in the filmmakers (Nikolas Dylan Rossi) venture. All in all I still recommend the film because I’m still a fan of his music and there are oddball recordings from his highschool days in it!! hahahahahaha Have a great day! xo -p
oh
The Philip Lynch Band is next performing Tuesday December 23rd @ 7PM Piano’s 158 Ludlow Street NYC shake off the consumerism blues and get on down!!